Maine is
Pursuing Safer Chemicals in Consumer Products(Beyond Pesticides, August 28, 2006) Governor
Baldacci recently expanded on his commitment to pursue safer chemicals
in consumer products by establishing a thirteen- member taskforce that
will be responsible for developing recommendations for a comprehensive
chemicals policy for the state of Maine. The taskforce was created to
begin the process outlined in the Order
Promoting Safer Chemicals in Consumer Products and Services
issued in February 2006 requiring safer substitutes for hazardous chemicals
found in consumer products and creating incentives to develop safer
alternatives on a state and regional basis. The Order also requires
the state government avoid the purchasing of products that contain chemicals
known to cause cancer or that build up in the environment and people’s
bodies.

Governor Baldacci’s
recent amendment to the order, An Order
Amending the Order Promoting Safer Chemicals in Consumer Products and
Service, calls for a 13-member task force to be appointed by
and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The diverse membership includes
three members of the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine. Nick Bennett,
staff scientist of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, will represent
environmental groups. Mike Belliveau, director of the Environmental
Health Strategy Center, will represent public health groups. Sharon
Tisher, professor of environmental law at the University of Maine, will
also represent the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine. Also included
on the taskforce is an IPM Coordinator. The Department of Agriculture
IPM Coordinator and the Cooperative Extension IPM Coordinator will share
staffing of this single position; in the event of voting this position
will have only one vote.

The Alliance for
a Clean and Healthy Maine, a coalition of health-affected groups and
public health, labor, environmental, grassroots, and professional organizations,
applauded Gov. John Baldacci on convening the Governor’s Task
Force to Promote Safer Chemicals in Consumer Products.

Nick Bennett, staff
scientist for the Natural Resources and Defense Council of Maine said,
“Data from countless studies show persistent, toxic chemicals
in places they shouldn't be: in human breast milk, the blood of newborn
babies, whales, eagles, and peregrine falcons, to name a few. This task
force can help Maine stop using these types of chemicals and push the
chemical industry to make safer products that won't contaminate our
citizens and wildlife.”

The task force will
also work on increasing research and development of safer alternatives
to priority chemicals in consumer products, including investment in
"green chemistry." This initiative could mean a new natural
resource-based industry for the state, such as plastics made from Maine
potatoes and other agricultural and forest products.

According to Sharon Tisher, "The University of Maine's new $10.35
million forest biorefinery research program is well positioned to produce
alternatives to petroleum products - including safer plastics - from
our renewable forests,” Ms. Tisher continued, “Maine researchers
are also developing proposals to research the feasibility of producing
plastics from Maine waste potatoes. These projects will help us get
off the oil treadmill, and mean growth for the Maine economy. The task
force will explore ways to give economic and policy support for these
projects, emphasizing the development of both safer and more sustainable
technologies."

The executive order also directs state agencies to educate consumers
about safer alternatives to using hazardous chemicals at home. It highlights
important regional and statewide programs to phase out the use of mercury,
lead, and other toxic substances. All public schools in Maine must adopt
and implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program that combines
practical pest management strategies to prevent or control pests in
ways that reduce risks to health and the environment.

According to Mike Belliveau, Governor Baldacci is to be applauded “for
recognizing that our chemical safety system is broken, threatening the
health of children and workers from daily exposure to industrial chemicals
used in everyday products like TVs and toys.”

Mr. Belliveau noted that thirty years after passage of the federal Toxics
Substances Control Act, only six hazardous chemicals have been restricted,
and the vast majority has never been tested for health and safety hazards.
Mr. Belliveau continued, “We need a new chemicals policy that
acts on early warnings and requires safer alternatives to unnecessary
toxic chemicals,”

The Alliance for
a Clean and Healthy Maine feels that the Governor’s Task Force
will be able to take the important first step of developing recommended
legislation and incentives to promote safer chemicals to protect Maine
families.

For more information,
contact the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine and its campaign
partners through its website,
http://www.preventharm.org/camp.part.shtml, or through the Environmental
Health Strategy Center, P.O. Box 2217, Bangor, Maine 04402, 207-827-6331.